Saxophonist Sonny Fortune returns to Chris' Jazz Cafe

At 74, saxophonist Sonny Fortune has done and seen it all. A musician’s musician, he is considered by those in the know as one of jazz’s most highly respected artists. Fortune continues to enjoy a career spanning over 50 years that has found him performing and recording with Miles Davis, Buddy Rich, George Benson, Roy Ayers, Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner and Pharaoh Sanders.

“You won’t hear people say I ‘used to sound much better,’” says Fortune. “One of the compliments that I hear and always appreciate is, ‘Man, every time I hear you, you sound better.’ I’m still in that zone. It gives me a reason to get up in the morning.”

With dozens of solo albums, collaborative efforts and guest appearances to his credit, Fortune, who hasn’t had a new release since 2009’s “Last Night at Sweet Rhythm,” is contemplating a new release.

“I have an idea in mind that I’ve had for 20 or 30 years,” says Fortune. “The only reason I haven’t done it is that I’ve questioned my readiness to do it. It’s an album of ballads. I haven’t decided, and I’m not even certain of what songs it would be. Also, the record business today is not great. If I do it, it will probably be on my label.

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“The record industry today is caught in ‘What can we do to sell records?’ and, by doing this, the art of what I’m involved in gets diminished. I love playing music,” added Fortune. “This is an expression of an art form that struggles to survive because we’re in a commercial environment. These days if you’re not doing something with words you’re not doing something with music, as far as most people are concerned.”

In addition to his solo shows, Fortune continues to work with a band called “Four Generations of Miles,” consisting of Jimmy Cobb (drums), Mike Stern (guitar) and Buster Williams (bass).

“I’m not working as much as I used to, but I’m enjoying it more because I’m being very selective,” says Fortune. “I’m at a point where I feel that it has got to make sense to me, otherwise I’m not interested. With this group, we’ve been together about four years doing the Iridium in New York every Christmas with the exception of this past Christmas, which we have rescheduled for April of this year.”

Relocating from his birthplace of Philadelphia to New York City in the late ’60s, Fortune earned his musical reputation early on as a member of both drummer Elvin Bishop’s and Afro-Cuban Latino jazz percussionist Mongo Santamaria’s bands.

In 1974, Fortune reached a pinnacle moment when jazz legend Miles Davis enlisted his talents. He appeared on the “Big Fun, Get Up With It, Agharta” and “Pangaea” albums before departing after a year to form his own group. He soon made his 1975 A&M Records album debut with the release of “Awakening.”

Ultimately signing with Blue Note Records in 1994, Fortune released three critically acclaimed albums — “Four In One,” “From Now On” (1995) and “A Better Understanding” (1998) — before returning to a variety of independent record companies, including his own label, “Sound Reason Records.”

“It’s one of the things that I have always kind of felt some awareness of and that is trying to have some say-so about what is yours,” says Fortune. “It’s pretty heavy in terms of how I feel about it and what’s important to me.”

The opportunity for stardom came knocking on Fortune’s door decades ago only to be denied when he was asked to compromise his creative integrity.

“I would love to have gotten a couple of million dollars playing this music,” reflects Fortune. “I was probably headed somewhere in that direction 30 years ago when I was with Atlantic Records, but I didn’t want to do that, so I lost out on that money. I probably would have died and left too much here (laughs).”

Possessing little regret and an undiminished enthusiasm for his craft, Fortune thrives on the musical journey for himself, his band and his fans.

“I call what I do spontaneous improvisational music,” says Fortune. “I like surprising myself and everybody in the band. We approach the music with a new enthusiasm as opposed to playing the same compositions every night. For players to play the same music night after night — and I’ve been in that situation — I just don’t like playing from that perspective. We often don’t really know what kind of an impact or impression we’re making on the listener. I certainly do appreciate it when people feel that their something is special. When this music is right you can’t beat it, and that is what I enjoy about it.”

Sonny Fortune and His Quartet perform this Saturday at Chris’s Jazz Cafe; located at 1421 Sansom St., Philadelphia, PA 19102, at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tickets are $25 and $20 and are available by calling 215-568-3131 or online at www.chrisjazzcafe.com.

About the Author

A Philadelphia based music journalist for over 30 years, Rob has interviewed, reviewed and photographed hundreds of well-known musicians and athletes. Working with almost every major music venue in the Philadelphia area, his writing has appeared in a variety of entertainment publications and newspapers. His work can frequently be found in print and on the web in the 21st Century Media newspapers. Rob resides in Phoenixville, Pa. Reach the author at (Unknown address)
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